Address by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Head of the Parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the PACE on item "Europe's fight against economic and transnational organized crime" (Strasbourg, April 23-27, 2001)

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Address by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Head of the Parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the PACE on item "Europe's fight against economic and transnational organized crime" (Strasbourg, April 23-27, 2001)

One of the important reasons of emerging of the organized crime is the lack of control or complete absence of control over the public order by the corresponding governmental structures.

Azerbaijan is extremely worried that one of the center of the organized crime in Europe is in our territory, so-called Nagorno-Karabakh republic, which is absolutely uncontrolled not only by Azerbaijan authorities but also by the international institutions responsible for fight against the criminality.

The occupation of 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan by Armenian armed forces not only left 1 million Azerbaijani refugees homeless, not only caused enormous destruction of our cities, villages, graves of our ancestors, in one word destruction of all the infrastructure in the occupied territories by Armenian aggressors, but also created very good conditions for development of organized crime in the territory occupied by Armenia.

1.The territory of so-called Nagorno-Karabakh republic is used for growing narcotic substances and their transportation. This fact is stated in the Report of the State Department on strategy of international control over the dissemination of narcotics in 2000 (of March 2000). Various drug dealers and drug traffickers feel themselves very safe and comfortable there. They get support from so-called leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh who use the drug money to multiply their fortunes to pay mercenaries and to keep occupying land.

2.It is well known that the former leaders of Russia gave permission to their corresponding structures to sell illegally arms to Armenia worth 1 billion dollars. The biggest part of these arms was located in “Nagorno-Karabakh” and other occupied areas.

I have a question, where Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh found these 1 billion dollars to buy these arms. Everybody who knows the situation in the region knows that economic situation in Armenia is critical, Armenia lives mostly due to the foreign aide, and hundreds of thousands have left Armenia because of the constant economic crisis.

The answer is obvious. Either they got these arms free of charge, which is less possible, or they bought it their drug money.

3. As a result of the illegal economic activities in “Nagorno-Karabakh” this so-called republic is famous for money-laundering operations.

4. In the territory of “Nagorno-Karabakh” they held training of militarized formations that are absolutely uncontrolled by international conventions on the fight against terrorism.

We ask that whole European structure take serious practical measures to force Armenian aggressors to free our land to force Armenian occupants to stop violating of human rights of 1 million Azerbaijani refugees, to stop using our land for their criminal operations.